CFL strikes five-year flag football education partnership to reach more than a million students

Graphic courtesy: CFL

The Canadian Football League has reached a new five-year partnership with Physical and Health Education Canada (PHE Canada) to expand flag football education and participation in schools across Canada, with the hopes of reaching over a million new students.

“Today’s students are tomorrow’s players, coaches, officials, volunteers and fans,” commissioner Stewart Johnston said in a statement. “By making football and flag football more accessible in schools, we’re helping more young Canadians develop fundamental movement skills, experience the benefits of team sport and build lifelong connections to the game.”

Through the initiative, the CFL and PHE Canada will deliver a comprehensive Flag Football in Schools program, in both official languages, for students from Kindergarten through Grade 9. The program will be introduced through a phased rollout, which will include:

• Launch of Grades 4-6 resources in November 2026
• Expansion to Kindergarten-Grade 3 and Grades 7-9 programming in 2027
• Introduction of a CFL Flag Football Skills Challenge
• Home-to-school engagement resources
• CFL certificates and student recognition opportunities
• Connections to community football programs and events
• Future flag football resources and equipment kits

“Schools are where lifelong relationships with sport often begin,” said Melanie Davis, Executive Director and CEO of PHE Canada. “The CFL Flag Football in Schools Program gives educators the tools to introduce flag football in a way that’s accessible, inclusive and built for every student. And beyond any single class or unit – it’s about fostering belonging, building capacity in schools, creating pathways into the broader football community, and ensuring more young people have the opportunity to discover the fun and benefits of a sport they can enjoy for a lifetime. We’re proud to help make that happen alongside the CFL.”

The program is designed to create lasting connections between schools, local football programs, provincial football organizations, CFL clubs and the broader football community, while building on the success of the original Move Think Learn: Football in Focus resource. Launched in 2019 for age groupings of K-3, Grades 4-6 and 7-9, the program has provided over 2,000 educators with skill-development activities, practice games and instructional tools, reaching more than 1.13 million students.

Hosted on PHE Canada’s Teaching Tools platform, Flag Football in Schools will extend the partnership’s reach, equipping an additional 5,000 educators with the resources needed to teach the sport safely and effectively, while engaging another one million students.

Flag football will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Canada’s men’s and women’s national teams have both qualified for the six-team tournament, with CFL players approved for participation at the Olympics.